I can't beleive they have a truck that old in their fleet!

I'm only going to say that some research done before starting trcuk driving a person should know what is to be expected u have to start at bottom before going to top..as in line haul driver myself been driving o3 years otr and have wife and 6 kids at home i also know if i dont stay out food aint on table even now its still tough with economey down..part of life. but if u want to drive truck either find a o/o willing to hire u or go on the road.

I drive for Pepsi let me warn you, it is a hard job. You start off as a relief driver filling in for people who are absent, on vacation, when there is a lot of drinks going out you ride with a driver, or you ride alone on an extra route. You haul in drinks to muliple accounts through your day, the # of accounts and case load very each day. You are supposed to run in an assigned region of your city and neighboring cities. Listen, if you have 15 stores and 600 cases your day is going to be at least 12 hrs, but could be up to 14, 16 once a week. You are subject to DOT regulations for hos, why is the question since you clock in like a normal job, but at the end of your day you complete a log book. You can not clock in until 10 hrs after your previous shift. You will work in the heat, sun, cold, rain, and whatever else is thrown at you. To make it worse, if you are taking in 150 cases of 12 packs (2 12packs is one case, 150 cases is 300 12 packs) you will have to move COCA COLA'S display to another location, then put your 150 cases in its place. That may mean moving another 150 cases of your competitors' product, for which you are not paid, to put in your 150 cases. Then you will mostly be dogged out by the stores' owners if they disagree with the order in any way. You are the messenger (so to speak). Coke has a electric pallet jacks, you have a hand truck and a dolly. 18 cases of 12 packs fits on a hand truck, divide that by 150. that's how many trips you will make to the truck just to get they product in. You now have to build the display. If the warehouse guy that loaded your truck makes an error and shorts you a case of 20 ounces, you have to call and tell them, because you have to remove that case from the customer's order so they are not charged for something they didn't get, but if you don't call and them , you will be charged for the case. I, um, got carried away, I have more, but probably should stop now.

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Cypress has the oldest worst equipment here in Florida..........Im not trying to be rude here but did you actually expect to drive a decent truck with them??? I have never seen a decent truck or trailer that they run.

Hello- you can always get a job driving school bus with a good school district
ggeo

cypress truck line is a great company to work for i know alot of guys there including family...they might have had a shoty truck or 2 true, but why whine about a little manual labor get your hands dirty a earn a little money thats what a job is isnt it? if i was a boss a cypress you wouldnt have had to quit cuz id booted you out the door as soon as you started cryin needin a diaper change dadgum man grow some and work your gonna have to sooner or later geeze! sorry but im sic and tired.

I just interviewed for the relief position, Im wondering will I be on call for when someone is absent or on vacation or will they give me assignments until I can get a route for myself? Also do you know what they start out at?

That is true - for drivers with flatbed experience! There were two of them in my orientation class, and both of them were issued brand new trucks. Experienced skateboarders were treated very well when I was there.

But inexperienced drivers, student drivers fresh out of CDL school can expect to be treated the way I was. It's understandable. I did not expect to get a brand new truck on Day One. I wouldn't care if the truck was old or ugly - as long as it was safe! Safety was my issue at Cypress, not the age of the truck nor the physical labor that goes along with flatbedding.

Like I said, you arrogant ###, I don't mind hard work. I wouldn't have made it all the way through weeks of load securement class and six weeks of training on the road and a full week of driving on my own if my issue was a whiny, "the work is too hard." The issue with Cypress Truck Lines is safety for inexperienced drivers, not the manual labor. Experienced drivers are treated well and given decent equipment. But new CDL holders are treated like crap, and with absolutely no regard whatsoever for their safety.

If I owned a trucking company I would make sure every driver got a well maintained newer truck. If I could not do this I would close up shop. The last person you want driving a older truck is a newbie. Heck they can barely drive the truck, let alone identify sounds that may indicate a serious safety issue.

One of the questions a newbie should be asking a company is a what kind of truck will I be issued and how old will it be, and will I have access to look at it's maintenance history. I have talked to several drivers who were issued what seemed like good shiny trucks only to find out later they were rebuilt wrecks.

I see a lot of complaints on these boards that could have been addressed before you even get in a truck. No job is worth the loss of your health or life, so you need to ask lots of questions because many of these trucking company's will put you at risk, if you let them.

Like I said, you arrogant ###, I don't mind hard work. I wouldn't have made it all the way through weeks of load securement class and six weeks of training on the road and a full week of driving on my own if my issue was a whiny, "the work is too hard." The issue with Cypress Truck Lines is safety for inexperienced drivers, not the manual labor.

OP, some think that one has to work hard and cheap and illegal to earn their stripes in the trucking industry. Mostly because that is what they had to do.

But it is my opinion that just because someone else let themselves be exploited for cheap labor does not mean you should have to. One should get fair pay for a fair days labor. Not used to save money by calling it training. There is a difference between exploitation and starting out and earning your way up the ladder.

I have hauled thousands of loads and can count the loads I hand printed on 2 hands.
I have worked some god awful back breaking jobs like loading roofing shingles, hod carrier, furniture and appliance del etc.. and you can bet that your body will thank you later in life when you are in your 40's and 50's if you work smart, not hard.

Look at some of these old timers walking around in the T/S parking lots all hunched over and can barely make it to the door. Do you want to be like that? You want to keep in shape? eat less and exercise, not be a pack mule.